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Post by Weezy on Oct 13, 2012 10:37:17 GMT -8
Brett Armory, Waiting 142 (2012). Oil on board. Acquired from the Dirty Laundry show at Thinkspace Gallery. Why I acquired it: I've been a fan or Armory for some time. He often captures something poignant in the isolation and/or moments of quiet solitude that exists, however fleetingly, within densely populated urban America. And Brett does this in a very painterly way. In this piece in particular his representation of the subtleties of absorption and reflection of light is really wonderful. I note that the talent to depict light and set a mood is an attribute that unites many of the diverse works in my collection. This piece appealed to me because it is consonant with that general theme of much his oeuvre. When I first saw it I thought it was too dark and muddy because it was not lit, but with even a bit of light the subtleties of the underpainting come out and a great deal seems revealed in it, giving it wonderful depth-- almost like adjusting your eyes in the dark to see more. Here it's a night out in San Francisco, with the fog and other surfaces reflecting what little ambient light exists to reveal just a hint of what the darkness obscures. Experience with such settings and the imagination fills in the rest, achieving much with a few strokes of paint that out of context would otherwise be meaningless. Weezy Attachments:
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Post by Weezy on Oct 15, 2012 21:11:56 GMT -8
Annie Lapin, Big Deep (2011). Oil and enamel on canvas. Acquired from Annaruma Gallery (Idyll Idol show). Why I acquired it: As noted before in my collection commentary in re Lapin, I think she is, full stop, genius. A few weekends ago, I went out to Santa Barbara to see her exhibition at Bloom Projects at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum in their space at the Paseo Nuevo mall off State Street (spectacular curation, and the docents' personalized attention made the trip absolutely worthwhile-- if you're in So Cal, go-- esp. since Santa Barbara is paradise). The works in that show she painted with the turpentine slop from her work over the past year, which was just lovely in a subtly sophisticated way. I had the opportunity to acquire this piece from the wonderful Francesco Annaruma from his eponymous gallery in Naples, Italy. This piece I frankly like less than my other large Lapin, "Wall Still for the Place Communion Place," which Francesco also enabled. That piece is tighter albeit less audacious. Big Deep is much looser and, in various aspects, bolder, with thick pulls of paint and bright, contrasting palette choices in the right spots, but it doesn't have the same painterly subtleties of Wall Still that provoke the imagination. As such it's more like my smaller piece of hers, which I also found more challenging but have almost grudgingly come to embrace. I kind of think time will tell how deeply I feel about this piece. It arrived and immediately disappeared to the framers (of course Andy at Sherman gallery-- if you're in LA he's going to do you right on framing as that guy has an excellent eye for framing and really cares). Anyway, I recognize my collection deviates from the sensibilities of this forum. Any thoughts on this? Am I right to question myself? If I weren't in the mental state I'm in, I'd be aggressively pursuing a Sten & Lex piece from their upcoming Paris solo, which I have a very strong feeling I'm going to regret, and deeply. Those guys are amazing. I pursued a similar taping on my guest bedroom walls, and I can't even conceive of how they do what they do. Weezy Attachments:
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Post by Weezy on Oct 30, 2012 23:19:06 GMT -8
 In January I'm relocating from LA to CH, more specifically Zurich, for a few years. I'm slated to take an expatriate gig at my company's European headquarters in Zug. My trip to Art Basel is going to actually be in Basel. Assuming less wall space given what are insane rents in Switzerland generally, I've got the hard choice of figuring out what pieces I can't live without and will bring with me. The rest will likely need to go into storage. Not sure if this is the place to post this, but any thoughts about what pieces to bring would be appreciated, and it's going to be hard to live without what I leave behind even if temporarily (I think the 2 large Lapins and the Micallef definitely, but not sure what other pieces will work in the same space and be safest to travel). Any advice regarding art storage, art shipping, living in Switzerland, etc. would be appreciated. I'm excited to be centrally located with the ability to pop over to Paris, Berlin, London, Rome or whatever for a long weekend to see art shows. Weezy |
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Post by rhythmgtr5 on Oct 31, 2012 4:46:51 GMT -8
Switzerland is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Be sure to spend lots of time in Interlaken  |
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Post by raumschiff on Oct 31, 2012 6:02:55 GMT -8
Hey Weezy, I'm from Switzerland and live near Zurich/Zug so if I can be of any help just let me know.
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Post by Weezy on Oct 31, 2012 6:26:11 GMT -8
Hey Weezy, I'm from Switzerland and live near Zurich/Zug so if I can be of any help just let me know. Thanks Raumschiff. I just know a few work people so always looking for new acquaintances. Especially fellow art collectors. I had the opportunity to meet up with a forum member this summer in Vienna, and that was really cool. Bist Du Schweizer(in) oder Expat? Ich werde mich freuen, wieder mindestens ausserhalb des Büros Deutsch sprechen zu können. Weezy |
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Post by jB on Oct 31, 2012 6:53:37 GMT -8
Switzerland is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Be sure to spend lots of time in Interlaken I agree. Stayed at the funny farm few years back. What a wonderful and beautiful place, enjoy, I'd personally move there for a few years in a heart beat. |
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Post by epicfai on Oct 31, 2012 21:14:38 GMT -8
In January I'm relocating from LA to CH, more specifically Zurich, for a few years. I'm slated to take an expatriate gig at my company's European headquarters in Zug. My trip to Art Basel is going to actually be in Basel. Assuming less wall space given what are insane rents in Switzerland generally, I've got the hard choice of figuring out what pieces I can't live without and will bring with me. The rest will likely need to go into storage. Not sure if this is the place to post this, but any thoughts about what pieces to bring would be appreciated, and it's going to be hard to live without what I leave behind even if temporarily (I think the 2 large Lapins and the Micallef definitely, but not sure what other pieces will work in the same space and be safest to travel). Any advice regarding art storage, art shipping, living in Switzerland, etc. would be appreciated. I'm excited to be centrally located with the ability to pop over to Paris, Berlin, London, Rome or whatever for a long weekend to see art shows. Weezy Exciting news, Weezy! I look back on my expat years very fondly. Switzerland sounds like a great adventure. |
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Post by Weezy on Nov 1, 2012 22:47:59 GMT -8
Exciting news, Weezy! I look back on my expat years very fondly. Switzerland sounds like a great adventure. Thanks Epic-- my god long time no hear in this forum. You move to the Bay Area, and it's crickets from you in terms of new posts and additions to your collection. Super busy? Where'd you do your expat stint? I'm especially excited b/c I speak German, not as a native but after having worked to learn it. So in addition to the job which should be a great growth experience and entail lots of regional travel, I'm excited about the immersion into Swiss life, the people I hope to meet and the experiences I hope to have. Hope some of that is happening for you in the Bay Area. Weezy |
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Post by |peetov| on Nov 2, 2012 18:16:06 GMT -8
sounds exciting Weezy. i would probably be too afraid to have any of my artwork make that trek with me. i suppose if there's pieces you just can't live without then by all means take them. otherwise, maybe it will lend itself to a "blank canvas" or motivate you to explore the local/regional art there a bit when your walls are empty. one day your collections could collide and merge together. best of luck to you.
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